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Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

Score: 9.0 / 10

Okay, I'm old. At least, I'm old inasmuch
as the fact I have a hard time buying into Professor Layton's crazy
fascination with puzzles to the point where his obsession actually gets
in the way of advancing the story.

It's not word for word, but here's the gist of one early situation where
I just about

Luke says, "Someone left a banana peel here. I'm going to throw it in
the bin."

"That's a civic-minded thing to do, Luke," Says Professor Layton.
"Here's a puzzle to make the chore go faster."

I don't have anything against puzzles. In fact, there are some really

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good ones in The Unwound Future. But when they appear in the most
mundane of places or actively get in the way of forwarding the story, no
matter how brief, something inside me groans. I just want to explore
what's going on with the story, why the Professor and Luke have been
(apparently) flung into the future, a future where Luke's future self is
asking for help.

The story elements are rolled out with animated cutscenes in typical
Professor Layton whimsical fantasy. It's relaxing, even tackling some of
the more challenging puzzles; the ones I plunked down a handful of Hint
Coins and had to really puzzle over didn't make me tense-up. It also
remains very satisfying to complete each challenge, which range from
math to logic to careful observation.

As the only game franchise that my wife actually wants to play, I have
no problem giving the Unwound Future a massive stamp of approval.